Pain Beyond Imagining
by InfinityAndOne
Summary: [One-Shot] Set during OotP. Harry's careful not to tell Umbridge anything about what he was doing in her fire. She concludes that the only way she'll find out is if she uses one of the Unforgivable Curses, and there's no-one to stop her.


_Originally posted on Archive of Our Own, under the username FiveLeafClover._

 _Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Harry Potter or anything associated. I am merely borrowing the characters and plot (and maybe a line or two, here or there)._

 _Some lines taken from Chapter Thirty-Two of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix._

* * *

'The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue,' Umbridge said quietly, licking her lips as if preparing for a particularly delicious meal.

Hermione widened her eyes, 'no! Professor - it's illegal!'

Umbridge showed no sign that she had heard. She was carefully studying Harry, making him feel more uncomfortable that he had done in a while.

'Professor!' Hermione tried again, but Umbridge didn't answer. 'Harry, tell her!'

This seemed to catch Umbridge's attention. She turned to Hermione. 'Tell me what?' she asked in a voice that was so sweet it was sickly. 'What? Tell me!'

Harry looked desperately towards Hermione. The Cruciatus Curse was horrible, but he'd much rather that then Umbridge knowing what he was doing. And maybe then, the others could find a way to escape while Umbridge was distracted with him. They could get a message to the Order. To Snape. They could save Sirius. Harry's pain didn't matter as long as Sirius was alright.

Hermione seemed to stumble upon her words, casting Harry a worried glance. He shivered where he stood, as if a cold winter wind had made it's way into Umbridge's office. 'We were _trying_ to contact…'

'Yes? Speak up, dear," Umbridge said patronisingly, her wand lowering ever so slightly. Harry looked towards Hermione again, suddenly feeling very lost without his wand. This was the perfect opportunity to disarm Umbridge without her interrupting his spell. But he _didn't have his wand_.

'We were _trying_ to contact Dumbledore,' Hermione said. Harry breathed out slowly, ashamed of himself for ever thinking that Hermione would tell Umbridge the truth. 'But we couldn't find him.'

Umbridge's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. Her forehead creased and her posture screamed anger. 'Lies!'

'It's true,' Harry said, mentally crossing his fingers and thinking of ways to escape.

'You must not tell lies, Mr Potter. I trust you know that by now,' she hissed. 'You're only school children. Do you really expect Dumbledore to be as careless to let himself be found?' She grinned again, posture and face changing to glee in a single second. 'The Cruciatus Curse it is then.'

'No!' Ron shouted, groaning as Warrington tightened his hold on him.

'It is a case of… national security… it's in the Ministry's best interests," she muttered, as if trying to convince herself more than anyone else. She pointed her wand right at Harry's chest. He held his breath, knowing the pain that was to come, but still knowing he couldn't give into the vile woman in front of him.

'Professor, you can't!'

' _Crucio_!' The surprisingly bright jet of light hit Harry at the centre of his chest. It pushed him back with the force of it and he fell to the floor, convulsing violently. He felt as if his body was on fire, his very soul being torn apart. His mind was in a haze, thoughts clouded over with pain. His eyes were rolling madly in his head and Harry was vaguely aware of the taste of blood in his mouth as he bit his lip hard to stop himself giving Umbridge the satisfaction of his screams that were very close to the surface.

Neville was as white as Nearly Headless Nick with a green tint on his skin as if he was about to be sick. Millicent Bulstrode had loosened her hold on Hermione, as all the other Slytherins had done on their respective captives. Even they looked disgusted at the menace in Umbridge's eyes and the prolonged Cruciatus.

Umbridge lowered her wand, ending the spell. Harry continued to writhe in pain, wondering if it was stopping or he was becoming accustomed to the excruciating feeling radiating over his body.

'Are you ready to talk now, Mr Potter?'

Harry was panting, all his energy draining out of him. He opened his eyes slowly, the seemingly bright light of the room reaching the very back of his head and making his headache soar to record proportions.

'Come now, Mr Potter.' She kneeled beside him. 'It's not very nice for either of us, is it?' Her voice was very soft, and it only made Harry's sick feeling worse. 'It won't be hard to tell me what you were doing, then this can be over. Isn't that right, Mr Potter?'

Harry breathed in more air into his struggling lungs. He couldn't see his fellow Gryffindors, nor could he see any Slytherins. He certainly couldn't hear anything except his own hard breathing and Umbridge's quick and fast breaths. It could mean that they could escape. There were no sounds of struggles or attempts to escape…

'Mr Potter?' Umbridge asked, smiling.

'Piss off,' he gasped, almost immediately hearing ' _Crucio_ ' and feeling pain beyond imagining.

Bulstrode loosened her hold on Hermione completely, looking absolutely horror-struck. Hermione didn't hesitate. She stamped Bulstrode's foot and kneed her in the stomach. The rest of the Gryffindors took the sign and started to fight the Slytherins. Not that they put up much fight. They seemed to be too distracted with the sight of Harry on the floor struggling through the Cruciatus Curse, and their _beloved_ Delores Umbridge causing it without mercy.

Ron managed to twist Warrington's arm that he was holding up against his throat, making him cry out in pain. He thought bitterly that it was nothing compared to what Harry was probably feeling. He stole a quick glance towards Harry to see tears rising in his dim green eyes - glasses on the floor beside his head. His scar was redder than normal and he was still moving violently, the curse still being held.

With Ron's and Hermione's help, the others managed to get their captors off them and retrieve their wands.

Hermione raised her own. 'Professor, stop!' she shouted.

Umbridge did nothing, and all of them in the room (but Umbridge) jumped when they finally heard Harry cry out, screams coming out of his mouth. So pained…. Neville stumbled to the wall, letting his weight rest on it. The Slytherins did nothing to stop as the rest of the Gryffindors raised their wands. Hermione was just about to stop Umbridge when the door burst open.

' _What_ is hap -" Snape looked at Harry and yelled ' _Stupefy_!'. The spell hit Umbridge and she fell backwards, breaking the curse on Harry.

It didn't make much difference to him. Every inch of his very being was filled with such a pain he didn't think he'd ever feel okay again. His thoughts were jumbled and he felt like screaming again. He lay there, unable to move and barely able to open his eyes. Every short and sharp breath made the pain worse. Death would be a small comfort compared to this.

'Professor?" Ginny asked, still in a state of shock.

'You lot should be thankful I was still close enough to hear Potter's screams,' he growled, kneeling down beside Harry. The Slytherins ran out of the room, not sparing a second glance to Umbridge. The Gryffindors lowered their wands and crept towards Harry and Snape, looking at Harry with unconcealed pity and sorrowfulness.

'What happened?' he questioned, turning Harry over so he lay on his back. He listened to Harry's heartbeat.

' _She_ cast the… she cast the Cruciatus Curse on Harry,' Ron stuttered, almost spitting out the curse name.

Snape looked disgusted. 'For how long?'

'I don't know… but you should know, professor. She did it twice… right in his chest,' said Hermione, shivering as she recalled the red light that struck Harry.

'Right.' Snape slowly lifted Harry's top, revealing an angry red looking mark on his skin. 'Merlin's Beard. Miss Lovegood, go and fetch Madame Pomfrey. Take Mr Longbottom with you; he looks like he's about to keel over. Miss Weasley, go to the Owlery and sent an urgent message to Professor McGonagall. Tell her "The Stag's been cursed". _Don't_ say anything else, do you understand?' Ginny nodded and followed Luna and Neville out.

'Mr Potter? Harry Potter can you hear me?' Snape's only reward was a small groan and Harry shifting slightly where he lay. 'Can you hear me, yes or no?' There was no answer and Hermione subconsciously grabbed Ron's hand in worry. 'Harry James Potter! Stop being a fool and tell me if you can hear me!'

'Ye…' he groaned, following it up with ''urts.'

'Help's coming,' Snape whispered, oddly caringly. He may not like the boy, but he didn't want him dead either.

'Will he be okay, Professor?' Hermione asked, fearing for her best friend's life.

'In time,' Snape answered calmly, shushing Harry gently when he groaned again. 'Let's put it this way, Miss Granger. Your friend was lucky he wasn't killed, or worse: driven to madness.'

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed! The line 'the Stag's been cursed': I fear I owe you some sort of explanation if you don't understand. Owls were being intercepted by the Ministry. Anything said could've gone into the wrong hands. Harry's patronus is a stag and that was the best 'coded' message I could come up with! Sorry it was a little weird. This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction I have dared to post, so some feedback will be great!_


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